About Sara Gourley, LPC

Hi, I’m Sara (she/her).

I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor in Idaho. I work with thoughtful, sensitive, capable adults who have spent much of their lives adapting to the people and expectations around them.

I know something about that myself. I’m a highly sensitive person, and I was diagnosed with ADHD later in life. Both taught me how easy it is to get very good at adapting without noticing what it’s costing you.

So I’m less interested in helping you become who you think you’re supposed to be, and more curious about who you already are: what you’ve learned to hide, what you’ve gotten very good at carrying, and what you actually need.

I didn’t start out as a therapist.

For more than a decade, I worked as an executive assistant to senior leaders, first at a Fortune 500 company and then at a publicly traded company. My job was to anticipate what people needed before they asked and stay composed when the pressure was high. I saw up close what can live underneath competence: self-doubt, loneliness, and the belief that you should be able to handle anything.

Then a season of grief changed things for me. It brought me back to a question I’d carried for a long time: What if I finally pursued the work I’d always been drawn to?

So, mid-career, I went to graduate school, earned my master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Idaho State University, began working with clients in 2022, and became licensed in 2024.

Since then, I’ve worked with many people, including helping professionals, medical providers, engineers and tech workers, people in business, construction workers, stay-at-home parents, and retirees. Many of them look capable on the outside and have quietly been adapting for years.

I do this work because I know how much it means to be seen for who you are, not just for what you get done.

I’m still growing as a therapist, on purpose.

I receive regular clinical supervision as I work toward my LCPC, Idaho’s advanced clinical counseling license. I also consult on my Gestalt therapy work and keep pursuing advanced training. My license is a starting point, not a finish line.

What I’m like to work with

I won’t sit silently while you wonder what I’m thinking. I’ll ask questions, share what I’m noticing, and sometimes explain the psychology behind what’s happening. And I’ll invite us to slow down when something important is happening right here, between the words.

I’ll challenge you, and I trust that you’re the expert on your own inner world. If something I say doesn’t fit, tell me. If you disagree, I want to know. And if at some point I’m not the right therapist for you, you can tell me that, too. For many of the people I work with, saying those things out loud is part of the work.

You don’t need to impress me or take care of my feelings. Whatever version of you shows up that day is welcome here.

My work draws on Gestalt therapy, Emotionally Focused Therapy, attachment theory, and parts work. We’ll set goals together and pay attention to what’s changing, so therapy has direction without following a script.